Manchester named top retail and leisure location in ranking of over 25,000 destinations
Manchester City Centre has been named as the top retail and leisure destination in a ranking of over 25,000 locations worldwide.
This is according to the latest LocateVenues research from Colliers, which analyses metrics such as venue type, brand presence and strength, vacancy and refurbishment rates, floorspace availability, price positioning, and category mix.
The venues in the research range from city centres; local town and neighbourhood shopping streets; malls; designer outlets; retail and leisure parks; to standalone grocery stores; service stations; retail in rail stations, hospitals and business parks.
Manchester – which has retained its top spot since 2019 – remains the leading destination owing to its weighted count of multiple retailers and extensive trading space. The city also boasts the third lowest vacancy rate among its peers, including 19 major town and city centres outside London.
The city also stands out with the highest mix of leisure offerings in its peer group, with 52% of its commercial space dedicated to activities such as cinemas, food and beverage outlets, and bowling. This is higher than the 40% average for comparable locations.
Manchester was followed by other major city centre retail locations, with Glasgow, Birmingham, Leeds, and Liverpool making up the top five. A shift in this year’s ranking saw Brighton take tenth, indicating a rise in its commercial significance as a retail venue.
Due to its size, the research sees London divided into its various submarkets, with Bond Street retaining its place as the most luxury-focused venue in the UK, followed by Bicester Village. London’s St Katherine’s Dock ranked most highly across F&B focused venues, with nearby Borough Market taking the second spot.
Paul Matthews, co-head of retail strategy and analytics at Colliers, said: “Our analysis of over 25,000 venues aims to form the most comprehensive overview of commercial retail and leisure locations across the UK. In our latest findings, our rankings are clearly characterised by the dominance of major UK city centres, with their diversified retail offering, large floorspaces, and high footfall setting them apart as the leading destinations for retail and leisure occupiers in the UK. Understanding the ever-changing dynamics of retail locations is fundamental for our clients in making location investment decisions, and LocateVenues is designed to provide a robust, comprehensive evaluation of the scale and profile of the UK retail landscape to support our work helping our clients achieve their goals.”